Shared Facilities Overview

2018 Facilities Days Open House

Facilities Links

The UW-MRSEC has developed an effective facilities philosophy that includes creation of new capabilities where needed, and continued improvement of existing facilities. The facilities are professionally maintained and made accessible to all users on campus, industry and other research groups across the country.

Our aims are to:

1) provide new capabilities that enable outstanding research within the center

3) leverage center resources so as to increase their impact on local infrastructure for materials research.

The UW-MRSEC provides full or partial support for a variety of instruments in the core facilities. A particular focus is on facilities for characterization of nanoscale materials, as well as characterization equipment for larger length scales. This equipment is available to on-campus, and in most cases, off campus users. Access and charges are determined by the management policy of each individual facility.

The MSC provides state-of-the-art instrumentation, support facilities, and expert technical assistance for research and education in materials. The MSC serves materials science research needs of the University of Wisconsin Madison, the state of Wisconsin and the nation.

Faculty and staff with diverse expertise use the center and are available to help solve materials-related problems. The MSC serves a wide audience representing over 40 departments and 5 colleges at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The MSC is also affiliated with the Soft Materials Laboratory, which specializes in polymer synthesis and characterization of physical and mechanical properties of polymers and other materials. Click here for more information on the MSC.

The Soft Materials Laboratory (SML) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides a research facility for analysis and characterization of synthetic polymers, soft materials and polymer devices. To maintain leading-edge research programs, to give students a state-of-the-art education facility and to provide services to industrial clients, we continue to improve this advanced laboratory with new equipment purchased by grants or through gifts from industrial partners. Click here for more information on the SML.

As founding members of the MRFN, we have extended this impact and accessibility via UW-developed software (WiRemote) that enables remote access to instrumentation for education and research. Major instruments in the MSC are now on-line to four Wisconsin educational sites (including technical colleges) and our partners at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez (UPRM). This capability, which we will expand to all MFRN members, is routinely used for education of students and gives researchers access to equipment not available at less-privileged institutions. In addition, we have placed some of our computational sites at UC Santa Barbara and at the UPRM, thereby translating the UW’s recognized leadership in computer resource management to new sites currently under development. Click here for more information on MRFN.

The Regional Materials and Manufacturing Network (RM2N) is a collaborative effort among stakeholders in the greater Wisconsin region to increase opportunity, efficiency and access to important resources. The RM2N promotes collaborative efforts with industry, and cross-campus communication among students and researchers. Campus partners include UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout, and UW-Whitewater. Each of the campus partners offer a specialization in materials science and together bring a depth of faculty expertise in various materials science fields, and a broad scope of research facilities that enhance research, education and industrial development. As part of RM2N’s activities a portal has been created (wiscmat.org) for sharing ideas, data, and tools among materials researchers and industry. Click here for more information on RM2N.